Teaching gets top marks from career changers

Three-quarters
of employees are thinking about changing their jobs, and more than a third of
those believe that teaching could meet many of their career aspirations,
according to a new survey for the Teacher Training Agency.

The
survey, which looked at what people want from a career and how that compares
with what they think teaching offers, comes at a time when around a third of
entrants to teaching are career changers entering the profession aged over 30.

It
also coincides with the period when many people are submitting their
applications for teacher training courses due to start this September.

In
the survey, 72 per cent of the 1,500 people who responded had thought about
changing their career in the last year. Asked what they would look for in a new
career 66 per cent of people surveyed wanted more job satisfaction as a
priority. The second most popular attraction was working in a subject you
enjoy, with 46 per cent.

More
than 30 per cent of respondents wanted an improved work-life balance if they
were to change careers, suggesting that employers should increasingly consider
flexible working practices to attract and retain employees.

Only
two per cent of respondents claimed that they would seek improved social status
in a new career.

Commenting
on the findings, Mary Doherty, the Teacher Training Agency’s director of
teacher supply and recruitment, said: "It is clear from this research that
people want to work in careers where the quality of life derived from their job
matches their other aspirations.”